Sports briefly: Stephon Marbury plans to wield his China ties to help U.S. fight virus

Stephon Marbury is here to help. Actually, he's there to help, and that's the point.

Marbury, the former Timberwolves point guard who won three championships in the Chinese Basketball Association, is in Beijing, using his relationships to help the United States fight the coronavirus. He is a massive star in China, memorialized in the way Michael Jordan is stateside, statues and all.

Marbury has been in touch with Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams about the possibility of helping the United States get desperately needed medical equipment. He said he has been told factories where he has pull could provide 2.5 million masks in a week and 10 million in a month. The virus first emerged in China, and it has waned there.

"Because of my relationship with Eric and for the people of Coney Island where I'm from, I'm now trying to help source from different factories here in China to help because [Adams] isn't here. He's not on the ground. He's not able to have people coming here because it's so difficult right now," Marbury said.

"So I'm taking on a role for him to basically try to help sourcing products with masks and different other products that people will need to survive."

Olympics

Visa sponsorship extended to 2021

Visa has told its global roster of Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls their sponsorships will be extended into 2021 after the Tokyo Games were postponed, providing some financial certainty amid the disruption.

It was the first clear commitment by a major sponsor to extend such sponsorship support after the unprecedented delay of the Olympics.

The credit card giant's Team Visa features 96 athletes across 27 sports.

Dates are pondered

Tokyo Olympic organizers are yet to set a starting date for the 2021 Olympics, but they are narrowing it down. "The Games are meant to be in summer, so we should be thinking of a time between June and September," organizing committee President Yoshiro Mori told news agency Kyodo, also suggesting the decision could be made this week.

Around the horn

NFL: Baltimore reached agreement on a one-year contract with defensive tackle Derek Wolfe, ending his eight-year run with Denver. … Detroit agreed to terms with wide receiver Geronimo Allison, who played for Green Bay the past four seasons and caught 34 passes for 287 yards and two touchdowns last season. … Washington struck a one-year deal with cornerback Ronald Darby, a regular starter over the past five seasons for Buffalo and Philadelphia.

Men's college basketball: Kevin Marfo, who led the nation in rebounding last season, averaging 13.3 at Quinnipiac, said he will transfer to Texas A&M. … Center Cliff Omoruyi of Roselle, N.J., ranked in the top 50 high school prospects in the nation, said he will attend Rutgers. He said Auburn and Arizona State also were under consideration.

Women's college basketball: Arizona guard Aari McDonald said she will return for her senior season. She averaged 20.5 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game. … Texas A&M guard Chennedy Carter said she will enter the WNBA draft. She averaged 21.3 points this past season.

Minnesota Scene: Gophers freshman defenseman Madeline Wethington was named to U.S. College Hockey Online's national all-rookie team. … Senior forward Bre Simon of Hamline was named to the American Hockey Coaches Association's Division III All-America West first team.